Secrets of the South Wind
by Fae 206
Summary: Anouk and Vianne have been living in the small French village for two years and Anouk has been fitting into her new home. However, when Vianne becomes pregnant with Roux's baby and refuses to tell him things definitely seem to become more difficult and with the north wind blowing things away, the south wind will bring them back.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This year I wanted to write for as many categories as I could so this is the next one on my list 😊 I hope you enjoy this.

I also know this has a series of novels but I'm basing it on the one movie so it's kind of AU.

**Secrets of the South Wind**

**Chapter One**

_So long ago, my mama let my grandmother drift off in the north wind. I was glad that we didn't have to move any longer, that I could have friends and develop relationships in the community, that my mother and I were accepted and people adored our chocolate. It felt that I could finally have a home. It felt that, when Roux came back that my mother would be happy. He and his 'river rat' community left as frequently as we used to but he always came back to my mother. He did odd jobs around the village for money but he was destined to journey. It certainly made things harder but if anyone could understand that, it was my mother. _

"Anouk!" Vianne called out as she walked through the shop. She had more customers than ever and people even travelled in to try her famous chocolates. She had been approached and asked if she wanted to teach classes or if she wanted to open a second location. She had told them that she would think about it. Chocolate was a hobby, a tradition that led her back to the cacao of her ancestors, it wasn't just a commodity. Vianne wasn't one to care about money and the finer things in life, she was someone who cared about her family's happiness and bond.

"Mama," Anouk smiled as she rushed forward from the kitchen where she had been studying her mother's craft.

"What did I tell you?" Vianne asked with a chuckle and shake of her head. "You shouldn't run. Imagine if you were to trip and to hurt yourself." Vianne smoothed down Anouk's clothes as she looked away, exhausted as any child could be with her parent.

"I wasn't running very fast," she tried to reason and Vianne kissed her forehead.

"Not very fast, eh?" she asked with a raise of her eyebrow. "Well, you shouldn't be running at all, not when there are so many knives around."

"You always treat me like a child," Anouk told her, "I'm not a child any longer, Mama. If you want a child then -"

"I'm pregnant," Vianne told her and Anouk paused, her mouth opening as she stared at her not sure what she should say. She blinked and Vianne looked away. She still wasn't married and in a village as religious as this, they were sure to shun her again for having yet another child out of wedlock.

"Is it Roux's?" Anouk asked as she took a step back, her hand absent mindedly going into a bowl filled with dark chocolate covered espresso beans.

"Why?" Vianne asked with a short laugh, "Have you seen any other men around here? I think not."

"Have you told him?" Anouk questioned. Surely Roux would stay if he knew. He was a man who had a lot of moral principles. He wasn't one to just suddenly abandon a family that he had become so connected to. Vianne looking away told Anouk all that she needed to know about her mother. She hadn't told him because she hadn't wanted to tie him down. In her mother's eyes, Roux should be free. "You have to tell him, Mama."

"If the time is right," Vianne said and Anouk stared at her in shock.

Anouk hadn't really known her father but if her mother was pregnant with Roux's child then her younger sibling should know that he was their dad, their papa. Still, her mother would never forgive her were she to take things into her own hands. There had to be someone who could convince her.

"Anouk," Vianne said as she turned to her daughter with a firm look, "Just between the two of us, okay?" she asked and Anouk opened her mouth to argue. She tried to calm herself before asking.

"What about Josephine, Mama?" she asked and Vianne froze. Maybe it would be best to tell her best friend about what had happened and Josephine wouldn't judge her for this. Vianne had helped her with a difficult period in her own life. They just needed to let the truth free, that should be the story that followed the flow of the wind.

**End of Chapter One**

**Thank You For Reading**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Vianne felt as if she were hiding a very obvious secret. Inside of her was a small child who soon would have life brought to them and this child would be raised in a way different than she had been raised, they would also be raised in a much different way than Anouk was raised. This baby would have a home where they were born. This baby would have a stable childhood with no need for kangaroos, as sweet as Pantoufle was. As Vianne's eyes set upon the name of a woman who had helped her in her greatest time of need, Vianne entered the café.

She had only taken three steps into the establishment before she felt some loving arms pull her into a warm embrace. "Vianne!" Josephine said excitedly as she pulled back but kept Vianne's hands in her own. "I didn't know you were coming. This is such a surprise. Come, come, is Anouk with you?" she asked as she turned her head to see if the small girl had accompanied her mother.

Vianne smiled weakly. It wasn't long before Josephine could sense that something was wrong.

"Are you thinking of leaving us? I mean, I thought that you had built a home he-" Josephine worried but Vianne shook her head. She saw people staring to look towards them and gestured to Josephine to make the conversation a little more private. Josephine nodded at once feeling a little worried that she had put her friend in an uncomfortable situation. Josephine pulled the attention of one of the young men she had hired and told him to keep an eye out, she then went with Vianne in the back.

"Is this a conversation that requires a drink?" Josephine asked and Vianne shook her head.

"I couldn't do that," she said and Josephine rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to try to act polite, this is a conversation between friends," Josephine told her and Vianne sat down. She put a hand over her belly and turned to look up at the café owner. She then raised an eyebrow and Josephine sat down quickly. "Oh. Oh, that's a good thing, right?"

"A baby born out of wedlock in this town, a good thing?" Vianne laughed. "As much progress as the people in this village have made, I don't think everyone would be happy with a new baby whose father isn't aware of them yet."

"Roux's?" Josephine asked and Vianne laughed.

"It's not as if I'm entertaining anyone else. Yes, Roux, but only the three of us are to know about it. Please, don't tell Roux about it. I have to find my own way to do so. I don't want to tie him down. That wouldn't be right of me," Vianne worried and Josephine nodded.

"I won't tell a soul. It will be between us three girls. This is a happy event right?" she asked and Vianne laughed. She had started to feel guilty when she had thought about Anouk and how she had grown up without a strong male father figure to guide her. Maybe this new child would have that in his own father.

"Yes. No matter if Roux wants to be a part of it or not, then it's a happy event."

"Well, you won't know unless you ask," Josephine told her and Vianne stiffened. She didn't know when the wind would bring Roux back to her but hopefully there would be some time to make her mind up on how to tell him. She didn't want him to feel forced or tied down. He was a river rat, his home was on the boat, on the rivers and canals. He wouldn't want her kind of life. Would he be accepted by the people in this village?

Oooo

Anouk raised an eyebrow as she watched Roux whilst helping one of the customers who had come into the store. Just like the last time that Roux had come and every time since Vianne had figured out the mystery, they had always brewed fresh hot chocolate for his arrival. Anouk looked over at the man who she had felt a bond with before as he nudged the door back and forth with his foot.

"It won't squeak," Anouk laughed, "Have a good day, madame," she said to the woman who had left and then went to Roux and sat down opposite him. "You fixed it."

"Yes, but not everything stays fixed and maybe, my dear young friend, there was a shifty wind with means to destroy this very door," Roux winked at her and Anouk laughed but looked to the side. It wasn't her place to say anything to Roux regarding their lives and especially the fact that he was going to be a mother.

"Mama should be back soon," Anouk told him and Roux winked at her, taking another sip of the drink.

"Well then, I'll wait. Besides, I thought I might be able to entertain you with some of my sailing stories, take a trip with me into what my past journeys have contained," he said in a playful manner to grab her attention. He was confused when Anouk shook her head. She always enjoyed his stories.

"Could you live here?" Anouk asked and Roux paused. There was a dark shadow over his face and Anouk knew that there were scars there and shadows of rejection. She had seen those same thoughts on her mother's face many times especially when they had first come there. There was a fear of being around people who would have trouble coming to accept you.

"Anouk," he said in a serious voice that didn't sound much like his own.

"I mean, if mother asked you to stay," she saw the pain deepen in his expression and he opened his mouth to say something but he bowed his head and shook it. Anouk knew that she would never have the power to tell Roux about the child, it might only bring him guilt and loneliness. He might leave forever and not come back. He had always been so confident, why couldn't he be confident enough to live with them.

"How about I tell you about how gorgeous a shell necklace looks when it's held up against a sunset," Roux suggested and Anouk allowed him a half smile. She nodded and listened to his voice. It seemed steady, calm finally. She saw the way he spoke about seeing true beauty and being free. She didn't want freedom, she didn't want to move from place to place but how could she deny her sister or brother a father.

Maybe she should be the one to speak last. Compared to the struggles of a new baby, her own voice wasn't that important. Out of the corner of her eyes, Anouk felt that she could see the leg of a kangaroo. Her imagination. It was all part of her imagination.

**End of Chapter Two**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to Rebecca-in-blue for reviewing Chapter One.


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